Suicide Bombers Kill 9 People in Northeastern Nigeria

Two suicide bombings killed at least nine people and injured 24 others Saturday morning in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, the heart of the seven-year-old insurgency by the Boko Haram militant group.

The Nigerian military said one of the bombs went off in front of a camp holding more than 16,000 people who have been displaced by unrest in the region. The second blast occurred minutes later outside a state-owned fuel depot.

No one immediately claimed responsibility but the bombings were similar to previous ones carried out by Boko Haram.

Boko Haram has been trying to establish an Islamic State in northeastern Nigeria and has killed thousands and displaced more than two million others since the insurgency began.

The militant group has recently stepped up attacks after a lull that lasted months due to a leadership struggle.

Since Boko Haram first took up arms against the Nigerian government in 2009, trade routes and farming activity has been disrupted.

UNICEF estimates some 50,000 children are at risk of starving to death if they don't get food and nearly 250,000 others are severely malnourished.

Although Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has led a successful military campaign against the militant group since he assumed office last year, Boko Haram is still capable of executing deadly attacks.

The violence is not limited to northeastern Nigeria, as it is spilling into Niger, Chad and Cameroon.